Page 29 - Florida Python Challenge News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Florida wildlife officials said Thursday that 1,000 hunters removed 231 Burmese pythons during the 10-day Florida Python Challenge.

“Every one of the pythons removed as part of the Challenge is one less preying on our native birds, mammals and reptiles,” said Rodney Barreto, the commission’s chairman.

One trapper 28 Burmese pythons and won the $10,000 grand prize for most pythons caught. The longest python measured just over 11 feet, earning the winner $1,500.

"It's my responsibility to go and take part in the challenge to give our native wildlife a fighting chance," one participant told Newsweek.

The winners in this summer’s come-one, come-all Florida Python Challenge were announced Thursday in a contest that drew nearly 1,000 professional and amateur hunters from three countries and removed 231 invasive snakes from the Everglades.Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and negatively impact native species and are found in and around the Everglades ecosystem. A female Burmese python lays up to 100 eggs at a time. Since 2000, more than 17,000 wild Burmese pythons have been removed from Florida.